TONY MARTIN is relishing the chance to go head-to-head with an old friend on Sunday, but admits all thoughts of sentiment will be put firmly to one side until after the match.

Crusaders entertain high-flying Warrington Wolves at the Racecourse on Sunday (3pm) when Martin will line up opposite former Wakefield team-mate Ryan Atkins.

The two centres played alongside each other at Wildcats last season, before Martin made the move to North Wales and Atkins was the subject of a big money transfer to Warrington.

Atkins, 24, has become a fans’ favourite at the Halliwell Jones stadium, scoring nine tries this term as well as setting up a further eight and has formed a deadly partnership with fellow England international Chris Bridge, who misses the trip to the Racecourse through injury.

And veteran Martin, 32, admits he cannot wait to lock horns with the England star at the Racecourse on Sunday.

“Ryan’s unbelievable,” said Martin. “He was a good player at Wakefield, a very strong runner of the ball and a good defender.

“But I think he’s taken his game to another level at Warrington, he’s introduced the pass into his game and he’s a very skilful player. He’s certainly one for the future for England; I dare say he will play quite a few internationals for many years to come if he stays injury-free.

“It’s also going to be a really good test for me this Sunday. Personally I’m really looking forward to it because he’s in my line and it is always good to play the best. I’m good friends with Ryan and I can’t wait to come up against him on Sunday.

“Warrington are a top team. They are a great side. They’ve got class players all over the field and internationals everywhere you look but it is going to be good for us in a way.

“We go back to being underdogs and people are probably not expecting a lot from us, I don’t think people will be expecting us to win. We go into the game with no real pressure on us and we’ve just got to make sure we put in a quality performance and anything can happen.”

Crusaders will head into Sunday’s match very much the underdogs against second-placed Warrington, with both sides still stinging from defeats last weekend.

Wolves went down 37-30 against defending Super League champions Leeds Rhinos, while Crusaders suffered a 41-0 humiliation at home to Wakefield.

But Martin believes all the pressure will be on the Wolves when the two teams meet.

“I think we are probably more used to being the underdog with results over the past 18 months,” he added. “We’ve probably started the majority of games as underdogs, more so than some of the players are used to so we’re not sure if that makes us play better.

“Hopefully we can get used to being the favourites, giving us the confidence we can get results.

“We will certainly be underdogs this weekend and hopefully we can go out there, cut down on the errors and put in a good performance. Warrington lost last week and all the pressure will be on their shoulders.”